Braver Than Whispers
by gungnirburst
Summary: He's a liar. He deceives to reach his own ends and steps on the weak. He'll whisper in your ear, make you think he's right, make you trust him. [AU. Axel/Roxas.] [Discontinued.]
1. Prologue

Fanfic Title: Braver Than Whispers

Game: Kingdom Hearts

Pairing: Axel x Roxas

Author: keadeblue264

So, I really wanted to start a new multi-chapter fic, like out of nowhere. But, since most of the ones I've already thought of for this fandom aren't ready to be put out there in my mind, I very nearly made myself sick trying to come up with something else. Like on the verge of panic sick because I couldn't think of a thing. And then this came along. I'm still undecided if that's a good thing or not. Please enjoy.

Summary: He's a liar. He deceives to reach his own ends and steps on the weak. He'll whisper in your ear, make you think he's right, make you trust him. AU. AxelxRoxas.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Kingdom Hearts and I make no money from writing this.

Warnings/Notes: boy-boy romance, real world AU, possible OOC, twisty-turny plot, sexual situations, possible dark content (I have no examples yet, but I will add them whenever they come along), manipulation, character death. Other warnings possibly may be added.

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><p>~**Prologue**~<p>

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><p>Packing up was tedious. Not that he had much to his name, but getting everything he owned together and leaving within the day had become too routine. He would have to settle in more next time. He would have to hold off urges for a while.<p>

All of his clothing was spread out on the bland blankets of his apartment bed, an article at a time folded up and placed in a large black traveling suitcase. Where he would go was pretty much undecided at the moment. For the time being, he settled with getting on a bus and letting it take him wherever. Anywhere else was preferable to his current location.

With his last pair of jeans folded up and packed away, he briefly looked around for any belongings he might have forgotten. Absolutely nothing could be left here. Satisfied that his search turned up no results, he zipped up his bag and took it off the bedspread.

Whistling a jovial tune to himself with his suitcase firmly in hand, he closed and locked the apartment door behind him and left.

oOo

Roxas was bored. Sitting in the back of his math class and tapping his pencil on the wooden desk, he looked forward at the whiteboard blankly, paying no attention whatsoever to the lesson. The teacher's drowning voice a mere low buzz in his ear, Roxas simply zoned out.

This town had to be the most mundane place around. Not big enough to attract anything too spectacular, all the next generation ever thought about was wanting to leave as soon as possible. And, to a teenager on the verge of finishing high school life, freedom was practically dancing in his face and just out of reach.

Roxas let out a small sigh and glanced out the window.

He wanted change. He wanted some excitement in his life.

He wanted something new.

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><p>Author's Notes: I haven't necessarily written AkuRoku before. I'm not all that confident here. In fact I feel rather squeamish. This is entirely experimental and good responses would keep it going at the very least.<p> 


	2. Chapter 1

Fanfic Title: Braver Than Whispers

Game: Kingdom Hearts

Pairing: Axel x Roxas

Author: keadeblue264

Please enjoy.

Summary: He's a liar. He deceives to reach his own ends and steps on the weak. He'll whisper in your ear, make you think he's right, make you trust him. AU. AxelxRoxas.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Kingdom Hearts and I make no money from writing this.

Warnings/Notes: boy-boy romance, real world AU, possible OOC, twisty-turny plot, sexual situations, possible dark content (I have no examples yet, but I will add them whenever they come along), manipulation, murder, violence, character death. Other warnings possibly may be added.

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><p>~**Chapter 1**~<p>

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><p>Weekdays were a routine. At exactly six in the morning, Roxas would wake up because of his alarm clock's insistent blaring. Afterward, he would tiredly pull himself out of his warm bed and make a trip to the bathroom in order to shower. By the time it was six-thirty, he would be drying himself off and changing into whatever he decided to wear to school that day. His mother would be up and about with starting breakfast. His father had already left for work long before he was even ready to wake up.<p>

Once he went down the stairs and into the kitchen, his mother would ruffle his hair playfully and kiss him on the head, to which he would reply by ducking his himself out of the way and smiling at her regardless. Roxas would then sit at the small table with only three chairs and listen to her talk while she cooked. Questions along the lines of how school was going and how his friends were popped up more often than not. Sometimes she would talk about what she was planning to do for the day, but only if Roxas asked her about it first. At seven, they would both eat and then he would go back to his room and get everything ready to go for when he needed it.

And at seven-thirty, he would be boarding the bus to school and taking his seat next to Hayner.

All in all, Roxas had the morning part of his weekdays practically memorized to the point where he was convinced he could do everything in his sleep. It was not necessarily a boring part of his day, but it was too often repeated. School handled the part of being boring much better than that.

His first class of the day was chemistry, which he thankfully shared with Olette. Olette was a girl who took her studies very seriously and was quite the safe haven for Roxas in this particular class. Most science related subjects flew over his head fairly quickly, and she was always there to straighten everything out for him so he could understand.

Second period consisted of English. There was not much to say about it since he could speak and write just fine and he was fairly capable of understanding both. The occasional essays and group work was more the problem, but thinking about it unnecessarily bothered him greatly and caused unneeded annoyances.

Lunch came around during his third period Gym class. The lunchroom was a pretty standard place, nothing like the ones in fancy expensive schools. At one of the long tables lined up along the floor, Roxas would sit on the right side with Olette while Hayner and Pence sat on the left side in front of them. Clatter filled the room all over, along with the clanging of trays and plastic utensils.

Today, though, instead of the usual chitchat they had while eating, Olette brought up a completely different subject from the norm.

"Hey, guys. Why don't we go to the clubhouse after school today?"

"That old place? Come on, Olette. We're not kids anymore," Hayner said, waving his hand in dismissal.

"Yeah," Pence piped up after sipping his juice, "Why do you wanna go there anyway?"

Olette looked away in a apprehensive gesture. "Just because."

Roxas, all the while confused, looked over at the brunette. "Olette..."

"Please? Can't we just go?"

She glanced back over to her friends with not quite a pleading look, but with one silently asking them to grant her request, even if they knew nothing of her motives.

Hayner sat contemplative for a few moments before finally speaking, "All right, we'll go. But we'll walk there instead of taking the bus. That cool?"

The other three nodded their consent and they all returned to eating, nothing more being said on the subject afterward.

All throughout fourth period Math, Roxas looked out the window with a daze in his eyes and thoughts in his head.

oOo

On the way to Olette's house, the group stopped by the local convenience store, Roxas being forced to begrudgingly wait outside while the other three perused for snacks. Kicking his sneaker clad foot against the solid concrete, the blond adjusted the backpack strap on his right shoulder and looked around the street. As expected, not many people were out walking around, which somehow made him feel a little self-conscious about leaning against a wall out in the open. Minutes ticked by, and Roxas constantly fixed his position in his restlessness.

"Sup."

Flinching from being surprised, Roxas glanced over to who had spoken to him in the corner of his eyes. A redhead wearing a sleeveless white top and blue jeans had occupied the spot next to him, practically slumped against the wall. His hair was wildly spiked in the back, reminding Roxas of a porcupine, and he was quite tall and gangly with thin arms. Dark green eyes stared ahead toward the brick house across the street, seemingly unreadable.

Shifting his own eyes back forward, Roxas remained silent, choosing to act like he heard nothing.

"What, you one of those boys whose momma warned them about takin' candy from strangers?"

Though he tried to resist looking back, Roxas could not stop himself from directing a raised eyebrow at the man and finding that not only did he have to tilt his head up to look him in the face, but also that his unwanted companion had his eyes on him now. He would have been lying if he said he was not at least a little freaked out by it.

"Nah, I ain't got nothin' on me anyway. See?" The taller man reached into his jeans and turned both pockets inside out, the most coming out being small pieces of lint. Grin plastered on his face, he righted his pockets and pointed to himself. "Name's Axel. What's yours?"

Ever so wary, Roxas simply narrowed his eyes and said nothing. Axel had something about him that just seemed really off. He looked too wild to be normal, or even sane. The blond was unable to decide which option was the more probable one. Really, he looked like the kind of guy who spent too much time in alleyways. But Roxas noted vaguely and a little thankfully that he did not smell badly for someone who appeared that way. If anything, he smelled of body wash and was visually clean. Very clean, in fact.

"...You mute or somethin', kid?"

The blond's back came off the wall abruptly, his body facing Axel and he countered in a peeved voice, "I'm not a kid."

At this, an excited grin took up Axel's face. "Oh, so you do speak! All right!"

Roxas regretted opening his mouth immensely. "Whatever." He purposely turned his sight away from Axel and toward the store's door. He willed silently for it to open and his friends to come out so they could leave already.

Brushing along a pants leg, Axel asked plainly, "You're not very friendly, are you?"

Roxas scowled. "I don't know you."

"You could, y'know. I'm a pretty okay guy, if I do say so myself."

Axel gave a small shrug, a hand reaching up to his face. He shortly seemed to realize the movement because the arm fell back down to his side limply before the hand shoved itself in a pocket. Roxas happened to see this, but thought it better not to ask about it.

"Why are you even talking to me?" he asked in an all too annoyed voice.

A chuckle came from the redhead's lips, somehow sounding a might delighted. "Ah, I'm new in town of course. Thought I'd see what the locals are like."

The blond was about to offer a retort when the sound of a bell chiming stopped him in advance.

"Roxas, we're ready!" Olette said happily, her arms full of drinks, Hayner and Pence coming out the door behind her.

The three of them stopped, all their eyes directed at Axel, who looked as if he did not know they were there, or just did not care if he did. If anything, he appeared extremely bored with their arrival.

Hayner leaned in closer to his friend, casting another look at Axel. "Hey, Roxas. You...know this guy?"

"No." Roxas removed himself from the wall, already far from here in his mind. "Come on, let's go."

Although a bit hesitant, they did as he said, turning in the opposite direction and walking away.

With them not having moved two feet, Axel suddenly called out, "See ya around, kid."

An angry look came over Roxas's face. "I'm not a kid!"

From behind him, he could hear Axel laughing.

oOo

The clubhouse amounted to what usually was the hangout for a group of children: a single wooden shack in the backyard, which was quite conveniently located at Olette's house.

Hayner frowned to himself and crossed his arms over his chest, taking the shack's size in with a critical eye. "Can we even fit in there? I mean, it's kinda small."

Olette walked up the worn wooden door and pushed it open. "Well, there's only one way to find out." Ducking her head, she walked inside.

There was a visible layer of dirt and dust on the floor and leaves were spread about from having blown through the square opening in the right wall that served as a window. The inside was slightly dark despite the sun outside, and the ceiling was littered with cobwebs that were either fully formed or broken. The air inside smelled dank and of old wood with slight traces of pollen mixed in.

Once inside along with Roxas and Pence, Hayner took one look around and said, "Man, talk about your renovations. This place is a mess."

"That's because nobody's been in here for years, Hayner," Olette said back, brushing some dust off her shoulder.

"I'm surprised your parents haven't torn this place down." Hayner glanced around some more. "It's not like anybody uses it or anything."

"I asked them not to."

Pence, who was looking at spider crawl along a wall, asked, "Why?"

With her hands clasped behind her back, Olette looked up at the ceiling. "Because I wanted to come back here with you guys one day."

Three sets of eyes landed on the brunette girl, their owners unknowing of how to respond to such words.

For minutes Olette said nothing. Eventually she finally spoke with a sigh, "Don't you think it's weird?"

Roxas was thoroughly confused by this point and voiced it by saying, "What's weird, Olette?"

"We grew up here, y'know. And when school ends, we're all gonna go off somewhere else and live out the rest of our lives." Olette turned to look at them, a sad expression making its way to her face. "Doesn't the thought of leaving make you sad?"

Hayner crossed his arms over his chest once more, head tilted slightly off to the side. "Well, of course it does." He shook his head. "But we can't stay here forever."

"I know that, but..." She grabbed a hold of her upper arm, seemingly wanting to hug herself. "I'm just not sure I'm ready to go yet."

"You know," Hayner began, walking up close to the brunette girl, "it's not like we can't all come back here one day. In fact, we will come back and see each other again. How's that sound?"

Looking up, Olette gave a small smile. "All right." She laughed softly. "Thanks, Hayner."

"No problem," the blond replied, striking the pose he usually did when he did something cool, "Now, how 'bout we eat some of that stuff we bought? I'm starving over here."

Throughout the next hour, the group sat on the floor and talked of childhood memories, ones they would be leaving behind once the school year was over.

oOo

Closing the door to his home behind him, Roxas sighed to himself, dropping his back to the floor. Today was almost too different for him to actually like. He wanted excitement and change, not recollections of the past and future separation and weird guys outside of convenience stores. He originally thought that leaving would giving him what he wanted, but now he second guessed himself, wondered if he really wanted those things at the cost of being away from his friends.

He stepped into the living room where his mother sat on the couch watching a program on the television. She smiled upon seeing him.

"Hi, sweetie. How was school today?"

Sitting down next to her, he replied, "It was okay."

Her brows furrowed into a line, concern filling her eyes. "Just okay? Did something happen today?"

"No, everything was fine," Roxas. He thought it best if he did not mention Axel at all. He would do his best to avoid the man from now on if he could. And he definitely did not want to talk about what happened at the clubhouse.

Despite the still concerned look on her face, she relented. "Well...all right. But you know you can talk to me if you need to, right?"

He leaned into her side tiredly, feeling her arm wrap around his shoulder, offering comfort. "...Yeah, I know."

oOo

School continued on the next day in the same way it always did as Roxas had expected it to. Yesterday changed nothing, even if it did leave a bitter taste in his mouth. He went through his classes in the same manner, talked to his friends at lunch, and was dismissed at the same time as usual. But before he could board the bus home, he spotted a familiar head of red hair. Scowling, he walked over to the person leaning nonchalantly against a brink wall, his posture once again slouched.

Once there, he asked suspiciously, "How'd you find me?"

Axel grinned at him, something Roxas found more bothersome than anything else the man did so far. "You're kidding, right? This town is small. I couldn't get lost here even if I tried. Wouldn't be that hard to find somebody here."

Roxas could agree with him there. Granted, it was not as small as some places, but small enough to make one feel cramped and trapped inside.

"Besides," Axel continued, craning his neck around so it would pop, "you had a backpack when I saw you yesterday and there's only one high school here. Just connected the dots is all."

"People are gonna think you're a creeper if they see you around here a lot," Roxas said, hoping to scare the man off from coming back. To his chagrin, though, the man looked highly untroubled by his words.

"Tch. You think I wanna be hangin' around a bunch of teenagers? No way."

At that moment, Roxas thought Axel to be a real idiot.

"I'm a teenager."

Axel chuckled and pointed at him. "You're fun, though, so I can make an exception."

"You're a stalker."

Not wishing to deal with conversing anymore, Roxas chose to leave right then, his feet moving his body briskly away. He more than hoped that Axel was not really a stalker like he claimed or he would have problems in the future. But, for the moment, his entire being was focused on getting away as fast he could. The buses had already left by now so he would have to walk home, which he found begrudgingly acceptable. He did find some amusement at blaming Axel for that at least.

Behind him, he heard Axel say humorously, "Well, you must like bein' stalked since you're lettin' me do it."

Roxas turned back sharply and walked back toward Axel, who appeared entirely too pleased with himself. All it served to do was make the blond mad.

"What do you want?" he asked, irritation coloring his tone.

"To talk to ya alone of course." Green eyes scanned around the empty schoolyard. "Not here, though. I don't think you're supposed to stick around a school for too long."

Roxas tensed slightly, ready to bolt at any moment. "And why should I go anywhere with you?"

The redhead appeared slightly disappointed, but it just looked fake to Roxas. Everything this man did seemed to be covered up, hiding what he was really thinking and feeling.

"Come on, Roxas—"

"—I didn't say you could use my name!"

"—it'll be fun."

The teenager could vaguely feel his head beginning to ache and he said flatly, "...You're not gonna let it drop, are you."

"Nope."

Roxas huffed, clearly exasperated, and yet Axel continued to wear that wide grin, as if completely oblivious to how much he was really bothering the shorter blonde before him. The redhead's green eyes were virtually glowing with humor, and his posture, instead of being lazy, spoke of confidence. Roxas narrowed his eyes at him, his lips becoming slightly pursed.

_He looks stupid._

"Fine, we'll talk, but you do one thing I don't like and I'm out."

"Yes, sir," Axel replied with a comical salute.

As they walked away from the safety of the school grounds, Roxas wondered just what he had gotten himself into.

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><p>Author's Notes: All the HaynerPence/Olette/Roxas dialogue is so KH2 that you could practically read it in their voices. SOMEBODY NEEDS TO CUSS. Please Review.

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><p><strong>Thank You (Reviewers,<strong> _Favers_**, and** Alerters**)**: **Hatemylife68**, _NoelleisParadise_, _Sara Crewe_, Adarcoi


	3. Chapter 3

This is actually really important so I thought it better to just put it on my WIP stories instead of on my profile because, seriously, not everyone would see it that way. I won't be writing another note like this, I promise.

Anyway, after a lot of thought, I've decided that I'm going to leave this site. I kinda already left it a long time ago, but might as well make it official. The leave is for a lot of reasons: I don't come here anymore for hardly anything, this is no longer my preferred site for publishing fanfiction, I don't even log on much anymore, etc.

Don't get me wrong; it's been a lot fun while it lasted, but it's not fair for me to leave people hanging without an explanation. I might post here sometimes if the urge strikes me, but as far as that's concerned, I have moved operations. I'm going to miss this place, but I figured it was about time for me to be honest and not drag it out any longer.

The second purpose of this note is to give an update on the status of WIP stories, status matching the WIP fic. If you're curious about whether or not I will be continuing a certain piece please check that fic. Status will also be in the summary, but details about it will be in the fic. All that though will be put after this message.

I also figured it only fair to put where I'll be so you might continue to read my fics or just be in touch with me. I'm available at these four places:

**Tumblr**: megalovanias . tumblr . com

This is my personal tumblr where I post fandom junk and cry. What else is tumblr for.

**Tumblr**: nahoes . tumblr . com

This my writing tumblr. Not everything I write will go here and I might not update it that often, but it's a good place to look. I prefer this since I can prevent people from stealing my work. Thank you, HTML.

**Archive Of Our Own**: archiveofourown . org (slash) users (slash) gungnirburst

This is where I've moved to, basically. Same deal with the writing blog, though. My mood really decides what goes here and what goes on the writing blog. My more recent stuff is here so feel free.

**Twitter**: twitter . com (slash) megalovanias

If you ever wanted to see me cry about fandom in real time.

Now you don't have to do anything with these links. They're here just so you know that I'm not dropping off the face of the planet. You don't even have to acknowledge that I gave them. But just know they are available and you can bother me at these places. My PMs will still be open, too. Like I said, I may not do much here currently, but that doesn't mean I'm 100% done with this site. If you ever see my stories have been deleted, _then_ I will be done here. But they're staying for now. I'm not willing to completely let go of this account just yet!

And so ends the generic note! Please look below the line for story status.

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><p><strong>Braver Than Whispers<strong>: Discontinued unless I say otherwise.

Honestly, I'm not quite sure where I was going with this, but I haven't really thought much of it either, so that's my fault. Given that there wasn't much going for this anyway, that's probably a good thing.

This story is up on AO3 from when I reposted some things, but the same applies there as well.


End file.
